The video circulating online is satirical and its author is not and has never been a ‘Ukrainian refugee in Europe.’ The woman from the video permanently lives in Ukraine and films many satirical sketches on TikTok. However, Russian propaganda used the 48-second joke video to once again discredit Ukrainian refugees.
Russian websites (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and social media are widely sharing a video of an alleged Ukrainian refugee outraged by the need to earn money and complaining about life in Europe. The video was posted on TikTok. In it, a Ukrainian speaking girl explains that she needs money, not a job. ‘Did you try to work before offering it to others? I need money, not a job. I worked for two months of my life, during which I experienced stress and heartburn. I’m not kidding now, it was really hard for me. I can’t do these jobs with tiny salaries,’ says the woman in her video. Russian social media users immediately reacted: ‘The poor refugee is over it. They just promised her money, but offered a job. (…) p.s. on the M4 highway is enough space for all of you’, ‘This is a typical refugee representative. A moment of ‘sympathy’ for this poor Ukrainian ‘refugee’, ‘Things are not going well for Ukrainians in Europe. Refugees complain that their income level has sharply decreased.’ Moreover, according to some screenshots, this video clip was shown on the air of the propaganda program ‘60 Minutes’.
In reality, the author of this video regularly records satirical sketches on various topics on TikTok. The clip of her saying that she ‘doesn’t want to work, but wants money’ is also satirical. In addition, the author of the video is not a refugee. She permanently lives in Ukraine even after February 24, 2022.
The video of an alleged Ukrainian refugee in Europe was filmed about a week ago by a woman under the nickname @sonytower on TikTok. Her name is Sofia, and her profile bio says ‘Life, humor, jokes, physics.’ As of today, Sofia has more than 20 thousand followers on TikTok, and her profile consists mostly of satirical parodies on various topics.
The StopFake team reached out to the author of the original video via Instagram direct messages asking her to comment on the propaganda using her video. Sofia refuted the information spread by the Russian sources and social media users. ‘In my videos, I often joke, and this was also sarcastic. I am not a refugee in Europe, everything they made up about me is not true,’ the author wrote. The woman also emphasized that earlier she even made a video about planning to never leave Ukraine despite having many opportunities to do so, and how difficult it is for her to even go on a short trip outside her country. Sofia’s Instagram photos also eloquently indicate that she is in Ukraine.
StopFake repeatedly refuted similar Russian fakes in the stories Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Increase Crime Rates in Poland, Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Burn Down a 400-year-old Hotel in England, Fake: Ukrainian Refugees Cut Swastika in German Field.
.
